Building

Every year it seems like we need to do a big toy sweep in the weeks leading up to Christmas to make room for the new toys that will brought home after holidays with the family. While there is a place and time for the exciting new electronic toys and building sets with billions of tiny pieces, there’s a special spot in my heart for the simple, imaginative toys that have very few parts and can last for years. This holiday season, Manhattan Toy (whom we LOVE!) has created a special line of open-ended play toys for parents just like … …..

Last year I wrote about a wonderful company that’s all about some amazing toys, and I’m excited to share them with you again. In case you missed it last time, let me introduce you to my kind of toy store, Brilliant Sky Toys & Books! Brilliant Sky Toys & Books is a toy store unlike any of the other big-box toy stores you make have been to before. They focus on providing the shopper with an experience full of enrichment, enlightenment, and enjoyment, all while maintaining the closeness and expertise of a small, locally owned shop. They fill their shelves … …..

From the 1 year old to the 28 year old, the males in my home get pretty excited about doing two activities- building things and tearing stuff apart! Even Ezra, who just turned one, LOVES to destroy all kinds of things like towers, stacked blocks, and anything else his brothers might have created. But, he’s also starting to learn how fun it can be to make things just like his older brothers do, especially those things that can later be torn apart. For this reason, Mega Bloks First Builders have always been a staple in our house (for real, we … …..

Corey and I are big believers in getting the kids away from the television and video games and getting them up and using their imagination. When we were offered the opportunity to review the Gears! Gears! Gears! Beginners Building Set from Learning Resources we jumped at the offer. We couldn’t pass it up for a couple of reasons. One reason is it is from Learning Resources, which has quickly become a favorite company here at the Hilton house and two; it makes our boys think and use their imagination while playing with it. First let me tell you a little … …..

Do you remember playing with Tinkertoys when you were a little munchkin? I absolutely loved them…. except the fact that the sticks were wooden and if stepped on they would crack in half leaving them totally useless. And so when I found that K’NEX had put a modern twist on this almost one hundred year old toy (invented by Charles Pajeau in 1914) I just knew I had to try them out…. I mean my kiddos wanted to try them out, hehe. The Tinkertoy set we received was the Vehicles Building Set which came with 78 pieces, 10 building ideas, … …..

We’re a family that is on the go a lot and so I am always looking for toys and games that are easy to transport to take with us on our outings. And so I was very excited when I found an awesome new toy by Tollytots and Safety First that would be perfect for our on the go lifestyle. These awesome toys are part of the Cubikals Play System. Kaelyn received the Cubikals Carry Case – Happy Home as well as another set of Cubikals Stack n Play Blocks to try out. Let’s just start out by saying that … …..

Did you have a Rubik’s cube as a kid? Or maybe you still have one. There are definitely tons floating around considering in their 30 year history Rubik’s has sold over 350 million cubes! And confused Mama Harper has still never figured one out, hehe. But now there are some Rubik’s products that I am actually able to do because Tollytots is turning this iconic brand into a toy collection that offers classic core values plus has parental nostalgia. I’m sure at this moment you are remembering playing with your Rubik’s cube as a kid – am I right? Each … …..

I have yet to meet a kiddo that doesn’t like to build, destroy, build, destroy, and so on. And this is why K’NEX with their wide variety of construction sets has the perfect toys for almost every child. Not only are K’NEX sets fun to play with, but they also inspire creativity, build self-confidence and encourages interaction among children and parents. Did you know that K’NEX is the most innovative and fastest growing construction toy company? Their toys are currently distributed in over 30 countries plus they distribute Lincoln Logs in North America! I had absolutely no idea that K’NEX … …..

When we go to church Dilly and Sugar enjoy listening to the music and dancing praises – we have an awesome praise team with drums, guitars, even a cow bell, hehe – but when the singing is over and the sermon starts the girls are ready to head to the nursery. Dilly is having some separation anxiety issues being left with caregivers that are not familiar to her… makes sense she has never been to daycare and I only have a select few people I feel comfortable watching my girls…. so I typically end up hanging out in the nursery … …..

Almost every mom likes to shop, but (and that is a big BUT) shopping with kids is usually not fun. Most likely shopping with kids means whining, crying, yelling, diaper changes, snacks, grabbing, and so on. Sugar is still at an age where I can successfully shop with her, but it is still much faster to just go by myself. What’s even faster is not leaving the house at all. Mom’s like to simplify life and to save every spare second we can. Well you can do just that with CSN Stores. The CSN Stores website simply is – simple … …..